Becoming a Flight Attendant

Since embarking on this new journey, I've had several people ask me about my career as a flight attendant!  I figured I would share my story on how I even stumbled upon this gem of a life I'm now living.  I'm currently 26 and I feel like I've had quite a few "life experiences" already.  I worked in real estate for 5 years starting when I was only 19 years old, I have my degree in business marketing, I've been on a reality TV show,  I've been featured in national marketing campaigns, was Miss New Mexico World 2015, and I was Miss New Mexico USA 2017.  With all of that under my belt, it may come as a surprise when I say that becoming a flight attendant was BY FAR my most difficult endeavor.

I really can't pinpoint one specific thing that made me want to be a flight attendant.  Being a flight attendant was always something that was in the back of my mind growing up.  I traveled a lot with sports in high school and college, so I think just doing a decent amount of traveling really opened my eyes to making a career out of it.   In college specifically, when I was studying marketing, I really admired the company I now work for.  I knew for several years that one way or another I was going to work for this company.  What I didn't know however, was just how difficult it was going to be to land a job.

All in all, it took me two and a half years to a become flight attendant.  I repeat, TWO AND A HALF YEARS.  That is a heck of a lot of waiting!  I applied for the flight attendant position when they had an opening  in 2016.  I was so excited but then after months, and months, and months of not hearing a single word back, I figured I didn't get the job.  About 10 months after  I had applied, I moved to San Diego and got a job with a local TV station doing advertising and marketing.  I was just starting to get settled into a life out here when all of a sudden I got a voicemail saying, "Hello this is Bill and I was wondering if you were still interested in the flight attendant position you applied for?"  I thought it was a prank call!  For some reason, I ended up calling Bill back and sure enough, it was legit!  I said yes like I just received some elaborate marriage proposal!   I remember running around my apartment screaming with excitement!

After that phone call, I had to fill out some paperwork and wait a couple months for an over the phone interview.  I was so nervous for my first interview!  The first interview was pretty extensive.  It wasn't a breeze in the park by any means.  I had no idea if they liked me or not afterwards which usually isn't a good sign.  However a few weeks after that, I received a phone call saying that I was moving forward and to be on the look out for further instructions for the face to face interview.  Once again, I was left waiting.  I didn't hear anything for so long, I started to wonder if they forgot about me.  Finally, they called back and gave me a few days notice for a face to face interview in Dallas, Texas.

My interview in Dallas was a blast.  I'll never forget the feeling of walking into headquarters for the first time.  I felt like I had made it!  For some reason, I wasn't as nervous for the face to face interview.   I knew I had what it took to be a great flight attendant, and I knew how passionate I was about the brand.  I knew all I needed to do was be genuine.  I also truly believe that everything happens for a reason, so I was at peace knowing it would work out how it was suppose to.  They asked some pretty hard hitting questions, but I had prepared as much as possible and left feeling great! However... I didn't back hear right away, once again!

During the week of my 26th birthday, I received one of the best gifts!  I FINALLY got the word that I was HIRED for a dream job, with my dream company!!! It was contingent on me passing flight attendant training, but none the less, I got the job!

I like to think that this experience was a learning lesson for me.  Good things take TIME.  There is beauty in staying patient and staying hopeful.  I can't tell you how many times I could've lost hope, and honestly there were moments that I really wanted to but persistence, hard work, and dedication always pay off in the end.


This is just the beginning of my story.  It's actually a very small part of my journey to becoming a flight attendant but I just wanted to share it with you all because I know there are probably some people out there who are currently in my shoes, playing the waiting game!  Don't ever lose hope!

Espwa

xoxo,

Ashley Nicole

A Beginners Guide to Clean Eating

Kick Start Your New Year 

Ah, good ole New Year’s resolutions are here! I know that some people think New Year’s resolutions are silly because they don’t typically last, but I personally love them! It’s a NEW YEAR… why shouldn’t we at least TRY?! Not to mention most of need to clean up our act after the holidays…. I know I’m extremely guilty of over indulging during the month of December.  It’s 2016 and it’s time to get cleaner and leaner… who’s with me?! 

If you want to start eating clean but have no idea where to start (it can be intimidating) Here are a few healthy alternatives to give you an idea of where to start! Each one of these suggestions played a huge role in my 40lb weight loss and current weight management.  Consider this a grocery list for beginners, and a fantastic starting point! 

Below you will find healthier alternatives to foods we are used to eating! The most important thing you can do when first starting to eat clean is READ THE LABELS on the back of EVERYTHING YOU BUY.  You want to be purchasing foods with very minimal ingredients.  The more natural the food is, the better! 

Breads: 

• Ezekiel Bread- Found in the freezer section.  This is the only bread I buy now.  It’s clean, natural, and organic.  Not to mention, chemical free, easy to digest, has protein, lots of vitamins, is kosher, Non GMO, no refined sugars, no preservatives, no shortenings, and full of fiber.  It’s absolutely delicious! They also offer buns, cereals, muffins, tortillas, waffles, and more! 

Grains: 

White Flour is stripped of all nutrients which makes it an empty source of calories.  That’s not what we want! Here are few nutrient rich grains to add to your diet! 

• Quinoa- all kinds.  Quinoa is superfood that is PACKED with nutrients 
• Brown Rice 
• Wild Rice 
• Quinoa Pasta 

Flours: 

• Coconut Flour (Naturally Gluten-Free)
• Almond Flour (Naturally Gluten-Free and Low in Carb)

Dairy & Non Dairy: 

I personally try to avoid dairy at all costs.  After doing a lot of research on the internet over the past few years I’ve come to learn that dairy isn’t necessary.  In fact, most of the population can’t properly digest dairy products.  I’ve cut out quite a few dairy products permanently and I have noticed a huge difference.  

• Almond Milk Yogurt (Non-Dairy)
• Coconut Milk Yogurt (Non-Dairy)
• Greek Yogurt  
• Unsweetened Almond Milk (Non-Dairy)
• Unsweetened Coconut Milk (Non-Dairy)
• Unsweetened Soy Milk (Make sure it’s Non-GMO) 

Fruits: 

• Apples 
• Oranges 
• Grapefruits 
• All Berries 
• Bananas 
• Avocados 
• Pineapple 
• Any fresh fruit you like 

Veggies:

• Kale 
• Spinach
• Broccoli 
• Celery 
• Tomatoes 
• Eggplant 
• Squash 
• Carrots 
• Celery 
• Bell Peppers 
• Zucchini 
• Sweet Potatoes 
• Onions 
• Green Beans 
• Any Fresh Veggies you like 

Meats: 

With every kind of meat, always opt organic or grass fed. Also, try and purchase the leanest meat possible.  If you buying lunch meat of any kind, look for nitrate-free! 

• Lean Ground Turkey 
• Chicken Breasts 
• Salmon, Tilapia, or other fish 
• Lean Ground Beef 

Eggs: 

• Always purchase cage free.  

Beans and Legumes: 

If you are trying to eat healthy on a budget, beans are an excellent source of protein (especially if you are vegetarian or vegan) 

• Beans: Explore different kinds of beans.  Black, Pinto, Red Kidney, Red, Soybean, and More! 
• Legumes: You can make so many great meals with legumes.  They are excellent! 

Other Grocery Store Items: 

• Oatmeal: Always buy plain steel cut oats. Nothing flavored due to the chemicals and sugar that they put in flavored oats.  
• Tea:  Any natural, organic, unsweetened tea is great! 
• Dry Beans and Legumes 
• Nuts: Always try and buy nuts that are organic.  Nuts are a fantastic snack filled with a ton of nutrients but you have to make sure you read the labels.  A lot of nuts that are sold in stores are loaded with sodium and sugar.  
• Bars:  I used to be a protein bar junkie.  Make sure you read the labels on the back of your protein or snack bars.  Most of them are filled with a lot of junk.  My personal favorite brand of health bars are Laura Bars… they are delicious, have minimal ingredients, and are very healthy and clean! 
• Condiments:  Most condiments are also loaded with a ton of junk that could be slowing down your weight loss.  When you can, avoid condiments or try and make your own using all natural fruits, veggies, and herbs.  If you have to purchase condiments from the store, look for the organic condiments with minimal ingredients and no added sugar.  
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• Walnut Oil 
• Coconut Oil 

Sweeteners: 

Processed Sugar is the easiest way to pack on the pounds.  Here are few natural alternatives to sweeten things up. 

• Coconut Nectar
• Honey 
• Maple Syrup 
• Agave 

There are so many healthy alternatives out there today! It can be fun to search for new and exciting things in the grocery store.  I know that since I’ve made these changes, I’ve been a healthier, happier person! I want the same for you in 2016! Let’s make this our best year yet! 

I would love to hear some of your favorite healthy alternatives! Leave a comment below with some of your health tips! 

Wishing you the very best! 

XoXo 

Ashley

Dining Out & Staying on Track

Guidelines for Dining Out & Staying on Track 
How to Navigate through a menu 

Dining out is a part of life, it's pretty much inevitable.  You can try to avoid it, but unless you decide to never leave your house, cut off all communication with friends and family,  and hire a personal chef... you will most likely end up dining out at one point or another.  As the weekend approaches, I thought I would share some easy tips for staying on track while dining out.  One bad weekend can destroy a weeks worth of hard work and lets face it... set backs are NOT fun.

The Rules For Dinning Out 

1.  Order before you walk into the restaurant.  Thankfully most restaurants these days offer an online menu.  I highly recommend going online, deciding what you are going to order and then DO NOT EVEN OPEN THE MENU.  If you can, order as soon as your server asks you what you want to drink so that you are not tempted to order something else.  

2.  If you can, pick the restaurant! It's a lot easier to stay on track if you stick to restaurants that offer a decent amount of healthy choices. 

3.  Eat before you go out!!!!!!! I know this sounds strange, but it's oh so helpful.  Even if you know you are going to order food, eat something small and healthy before you walk through the doors of the restaurant.  It's dangerous to walk into a restaurant hungry and if you aren't starving... You'll be more likely to stick to your diet. 

4.  Ask Questions.  I always use to be so afraid to bother or annoy the servers when dining out, BUT I had to get over it and you know what?  You shouldn't be afraid to ask! Asking important questions and finding out exactly what is in your food can make or break your diet.  Sometimes it may appear that you are eating healthy when in reality, there are hidden ingredients.  So, ask away!

5.  Avoid Gluten.  I know there is a lot of hoopla about gluten-free diets however if you are trying to stay on track with your diet... ditch the bread.  Just by simply eliminating bread, you will feel so much better and less guilty when you leave the restaurant.  You can order a burger with no bun, chicken, salad with no croutons etc.

6.  Ask if your meal can be cooked in Olive Oil.  Most restaurants use corn, vegetable, and canola oil.  This is one reason why eating out can be so unhealthy. Even real butter is better than vegetable oil or margarine. 

7.  ALWAYS get veggies as your side.  Always replace the starchy side.  If you are trying to stay on track while eating out... don't even consider anything else besides veggies as your side.  Just don't even go there... trust me! (this also goes back to rule #3 if you eat before you go out, you won't feel like you need much of a side anyways.)

8.  If you are going somewhere that offers "Free Bread" or other unlimited food items.. pass on it.  This is a hard one for me because it's FREE or as my dad would say.. "included in the price"  but this is a make or break decision at the very beginning of your meal.  I would recommend telling your hostess or server right away that you wouldn't like any bread so it's not sitting on the table, tempting you.

9.  Avoid Breaded Foods.  Always opt for the grilled instead of breaded.

10.  Avoid Dressings and Sauces.  Always ask for your dressing on the side.

11. Skip over the Pizza and Pasta parts of the menu.  I would recommend avoiding places that mostly offer pizza & pasta (like pizza joints or Italian) but sometimes you can't.  If you are at an Italian restaurant, then I would say just skip this part of the menu all together and only focus on the salads, meat, and seafood parts. 

12.  Ask for NO MSG.  MSG is awful and you should always try and avoid it!

*************************************************************************

Breakfast ideas: 
Breakfast is usually a pretty easy meal to find healthy alternatives.  An omelet without cheese, an egg plate with with no potatoes, sub the toast, biscuits, pancakes and potatoes with extra bacon or turkey sausage. Always ask for a side of fruit in lieu of a starchy carb. 

Lunch Ideas:
Salads with no croutons, cheese, or dressings.  You can ask for extra meat, egg, avocado, tomato etc.
Non-Cream soups.
Lettuce Wraps.

Dinner Ideas:
Burger with no bun.
Meat, Chicken, or Fish entrees with Veggies
Fajitas with pico de gallo.  No rice, tortillas, or beans.  
A side of Guacamole goes with everything.
 Chinese:  Steamed protein and vegetables with egg drop soup
Italian:  Meatballs with a side salad.

*********************************************************************

Fast Food Options: 

If you click on the restaurant, it will take you directly to the nutritional information for that restaurant!

CHIPOLTE 
Surrito bowl with any meat filling, salsa, and guacamole

CHIC FIL A 
Grilled Chicken Strips and a Fruit Cup

SQUEEZED 
Any fresh juices or smoothies

BOSTON MARKET 
Chicken with two sides of steamed veggies

RUDYS 
Any of their meats

WHICH WICH 
Lettuce Wrap

CRACKER BARREL
Eggs, Bacon, Ham, Sausage
Chicken Tenderloins (grilled)

APPLEBEES 
Steak
Chipolte  Lime Chicken 
Jalapeno Lime Shrimp
Garlic Herb Salmon

OUTBACK 
Aussie Cob Salad with no croutons and grilled chicken
Steak with veggies
Chicken veggies

P.F. CHANGS 
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Egg Drop Soup
Ginger Chicken with Broccoli
Lemon Chicken
Changs Spicy Chicken

CHILIS 
Cajun Ribeye
Any of the burgers with no bun and no cheese
Chicken plates with veggies

JIMMY JOHNS 
ask for the "unwiched" style.  They wrap all the sandwiches in lettuce.  Ask for no cheese.

JASONS DELI
Salad Bar
Gluten Free Menu



***************************************************************************** 

There are so many other places you can go, but this is just my short list to give you a few ideas! I hope this helps.  It's important to stay on track over the weekend... even if you are planning on having a cheat meal it's important to plan ahead but just remember that life is short! Don't be too hard on yourself and enjoy the little things!  If you end up cheating when you weren't intending to, it's not the end of the world.  This blog was just intended to provide helpful tips if you are trying really hard to stay on track!


XoXo 
Ashley

For Daily Tips and Recipes follow me on: 

Instagram: ashleynicolemora1 

Twitter: MissAshleyMoora 

 

Juicing on a Budget

Squeeze the Most Out of Every Dollar! 

There is a little rumor going around that juicing is outrageously expensive.  Can it be pricey? Well, yes of course it can be... but it doesn't have to be! There are ways to squeeze the most out of every dollar when it comes to purchasing produce.  

Here are my 10 tips on how to juice on budget! 

1. Purchase produce that has a high water content. Fruits and Vegetables that have a high water content tend to produce a lot more juice.  This weekend I juiced 1 medium sized watermelon and it made 6 16oz jars of juice.  Some other items that juice well are cucumbers, celery, apples, pears, and lemons. 
2. Cut back on the berries.  They don't produce a lot of juice and they are expensive.
3. Purchase your produce at a farmers market.  You can also save money by buying in bulk at places like Sam's Club or Costco.  They are now starting to offer organic produce. 
4. Buy produce that is in season. Produce that is in season typically costs less and is usually on sale.
5. Purchase a mint leaf plant (I got mine at Walmart)  I use a lot of mint leaves in my juices and the containers at the store can be pricey.  
6. Plan ahead.  It's easy to get excited when you go the grocery store but if you make a list ahead of time and stick to it, you can cut down the cost of your grocery bill.   
7. Grow Your Own Garden. I by no means have a green thumb but you can save a lot of money growing your own produce.
8. If your produce is about to go bad, juice it and then throw it in the freezer.  You can preserve the juice for a few weeks in the freezer without it going bad. 
9. Keep your produce in the refrigerator, it will help preserve the life of your produce. 
10. Stretch Juice out with sparkling water, coconut water, or ice cubes! It's very tasty and if you like carbonated drinks like diet coke, sparkling water is a great substitution.

 Low Budget Recipes  

 Recipes with minimal ingredients are typically less expenisive.  If you are a new juicer, these might not be the greatest juices to start off with because they are not as tasty as the recipes with a bunch of fruit. Check out my 50+ juicing recipes post for more creative ideas! 

Juice for $1.35 per Glass 

1 Beet, 3 apples, 1 lemon 

Juice for $1.65 per Glass 

15 carrots 

8 Celery Stalks 

2 Apples 

Juice for 1.45 per Glass 

2 1/2 Cups of Kale 

3 Apples 

1 Lemon 

Juice for $1.30 per Glass 

10 Carrots 

2 Apples 

Inch of Ginger Root 

Juice for $1.30 per Glass

1 Beet 

1/4 Watermelon 

Juice for $1.25 per Glass 

2 1/2 cups of Spinach 

3 Apples 

1 Lemon  

*** A Few Things to Keep in Mind***

We invest a lot of our time, money, and energy into things like clothes, shoes, an apartment, maybe a house, a car.... the list goes on and on.  The majority of the time our health is something we put on the back burner because we get so caught up in life.  When you start juicing, consider it an investment for your own health.  Just like with clothes, usually the more expensive the shirt, the better quality it is.  Food works the same way and it is SO important to always remember "benefits over cost" and I truly believe that juicing is one of the best ways to maintaining a healthy lifestyle! 


If you enjoyed this blog you might want to take a little look at "How To Get The Most Out Of Juicing" which will also help with juicing costs and my "50+ Juicing Recipes" blogs. 

Much love, 

Ashley 

For Daily Tips and Recipes follow me on: 

Instagram: ashleynicolemora1 

Twitter: MissAshleyMoora